In the South Bronx area of New York City, Nate “Tiny” Archibald learned to manage personalities from a young age. Archibald was the oldest of seven children in a cramped two-bedroom apartment. Caring for siblings prepared Archibald for life as an NBA point guard, where he was charged with walking the delicate line of satisfying 11 egos and ensuring wins.

But it wasn’t until he played for Bob Cousy in Cincinnati and then Kansas City-Omaha that Archibald developed the metric by which he now evaluates point guards. It is the ability to manage, more than scoring, passing or rebounding, that Archibald views as the defining element of a floor general's worth.

“The value of a point guard is how well that person can manage a team every game,” Archibald said. “Not just one game, every game.”

Archibald did so with style and speed for 14 seasons with the Cincinnati Royals, Kansas City-Omaha Kings, New York Nets, Boston Celtics and Milwaukee Bucks. He carried struggling teams and fit in as a piece on successful teams. The flexibility to take on different roles and elevate teammates in the process is a trait Archibald searches for in players of this era.

He believes Kyrie Irving, Russell Westbrook, Tony Parker and Chris Paul have the makeup of superior point guards. Each has gifts Archibald saw in his own game. We delve into Archibald’s similarities with each player, while highlighting the point guard’s responsibility to manage.

Kyrie Irving

Archibald was 22 when he entered the NBA out of UTEP. From day one, he was handed the keys to a franchise. While there was glamour in his position, there also was responsibility. Archibald was depended on to keep the team competitive. He had to score, ballhandle and defend for close to 45 minutes every night.

Archibald sees Kyrie Irving's first two NBA seasons as similar to his own. Irving came to the Cleveland Cavaliers with youth and skill on his side. In only his second season, Irving, 20, has developed into one of the NBA’s most electric guards. What he doesn’t have yet is a core group of teammates to help carry the Cavaliers to relevancy in the East.

Archibald never received that help, and the demands on his body eventually took a toll. After averaging more than 44 minutes per game in his second and third seasons, Archibald played only 35 games in his fourth. Irving already has begun to accumulate injuries, too.

“This is speaking from experience,” Archibald said. “If you look at my stats, from when I came in to about my third year in the league, I was averaging 45-plus minutes. I got a couple pounds on me. Not a whole lot of pounds on this body, but it wore me down.

“I’m like him. He’s a penetrator, too. You’re going to hit that ground and hit that floor a couple times and your body might not get back up. Your mind might get up, but your body might not get up. And he’s been injured before like I have. It’s going to take a toll, so you have to put pieces with him so he can play 40 minutes and know ‘I don’t have to penetrate every time I get the ball, and I don’t have to score every time I get the ball.’”

Russell Westbrook

Archibald considered himself more of a combo guard in his early years because of the scoring load he assumed. His shoot-first game resembles the approach that governs the play of Oklahoma City Thunder guard Russell Westbrook. Both methods were born out of necessity and maintained because of success.

Westbrook’s skills as a playmaker often are considered secondary to his strong drives. Archibald was another guard who tested parameters placed on the position. He posted a league-leading 11.4 assists as a third-year player, but he was the top scorer at 34.0 points as well.

“I was a very quiet aggressive player. I always thought that I had to unite and be the ignition into the offense,” Archibald said. “I think that (Westbrook) is going to have to accept the responsibility of getting his team into the offense. But I think that you have to be aggressive. I love his aggressiveness. Sometimes our decision-making is not great, but his aggressiveness is always there.”

Because of Westbrook’s relentless mentality, Archibald said he appreciates the Thunder guard more than other players around the league.

“At UCLA, he didn’t play that position,” Archibald said. “He was an off guard. Now you’ve put him in a position that’s kind of a little foreign, but he’s playing it. He’s out to prove that ‘I’m better than some of the guys before me.’ You have to feel that inside of you.”

Tony Parker

San Antonio Spurs guard Tony Parker has maintained a level of excellence few can claim, yet he remains secondary in conversations about great players. It’s something Archibald finds shocking.

“I’m going to pick on one guy because I think he’s one of the greatest guards nobody talks about,” Archibald said. “That’s Tony Parker. You talk about championship runs, being in the playoffs every year, and because he’s from a team that’s in a very small market, he never gets the publicity.”

When his high-scoring days were over, Archibald joined the Celtics and stepped into the role Parker now occupies as operator of a team with name recognition and wins under its belt. It was in Boston that Archibald won his only NBA title as a member of the 1980-81 Celtics. Parker has played under the radar and won three titles with little acclaim in San Antonio.

“He’s never in that conversation,” Archibald said. “I’m shocked. When you talk about those guys, what do they do any different than him? He should be in the same breath as those guys.”

Chris Paul

Like Los Angeles Clippers point guard Chris Paul is today, Archibald was one of the smaller players of his era. Archibald appreciates highflyers and dead-eye shooters, but, at 6-foot-1, he played below the rim and grew to cherish the foundation of his position.

No player embodies the fundamentals of point-guard play quite like Paul. He is held up as the most cerebral of today’s guards, and his approach as unchallenged floor general fits Archibald’s views.

“I’m not trying to outthink everybody,” Archibald said. “I’m just trying to outmaneuver and see if we can be one step ahead of everybody. There’s components that I went through and try to share with people and they still don’t understand.”